10 Things to Know About PBT’s Romeo and Juliet
10 Things to Know About PBT’s Romeo and Juliet
Premiering This Valentine’s Day Weekend
This Valentine’s Day, join Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for the classic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Jean-Christophe Maillot’s stunning choreography evokes all the romance and heartbreak we’ve come to love about Romeo and Juliet. While this production follows the traditional tale, there are a few differences. Keep reading to learn:
10 Things to Know About PBT’s Romeo and Juliet.
- Maillot choreographed this version assuming that everyone in the audience already knew the classic story. If it’s been a while, here’s a brief refresher!
- This ballet offers a fresh recounting of the tragic love story from Friar Laurence’s perspective. Tortured by his hand in the tragedy, the friar recounts the story’s events through a series of flashbacks.
Alexandra Kochis and Christopher Budzynski in PBT’s 2009 production | Photo: Rich Sofranko - While Shakespeare’s play focuses largely on the two feuding families, this ballet focuses on the follies of youth and the ramifications of young love spiraling out of control.
- Described as a cross between classical and contemporary ballet, this production focuses on capturing the performers’ emotions.
- The simple, elegant costumes were designed by famous Parisian costume designer Jerôme Kaplan. View some of his original design sketches and other works on his website.
- This is not the first time PBT has performed this version of Romeo and Juliet. In its 55-year history, PBT has performed various versions of the ballet eleven times with six different variations. PBT last brought Maillot’s version to the Benedum Center in 2009.
- The music was composed in 1935 by renowned Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev, known for many famous scores like Peter and the Wolf.
Jean-Christophe Maillot | Photo: Alice Blangero - These performances will be accompanied by the exceptionally talented PBT Orchestra! Read a bit about our skilled orchestra here.
- Choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot has had an extremely accomplished career, having served as the Choreographer-Director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo since 1993 and having developed over 40 professional works, including ballet adaptations of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Taming of the Shrew. Notable awards and distinctions include the Nijinsky Award for Best Choreography for the production of La Belle, the Golden Mask for Best Performance for La Mégère Apprivoisée, Knighthood in the Légion d’honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Prix de Lausanne Lifetime Achievement Award, among many others.
- Maillot’s version premiered in 1996 at the Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Nearly thirty years later, we’re proud to continue bringing this visionary masterpiece to the stage.
Interested in hearing some fun facts about the original Shakespearian play? Look no further than:
10 fun facts about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
- Since its premiere about 430 years ago, Romeo and Juliet has been adapted hundreds of times, with about 50 direct film adaptations, over 100 more indirect film adaptations like West Side Story and dozens of ballets, operas and musicals.
Juliet’s Balcony in Verona - Even though Shakespeare set 13 of his plays in Italy, scholars find it unlikely that he ever visited Italy. However, between 1585 and 1592, Shakespeare disappeared from public record, a period widely known as his “lost years.” With no idea where he went or what he was doing, it’s certainly possible he got to see the country he wrote about so often.
- The Montagues and Capulets were real 13th-century Italian families so notorious for their feud that they were even referenced in Dante’s 14th-century poem The Divine Comedy.
- Although there’s no record that Romeo and Juliet themselves were real, the city of Verona, Italy (where the play takes place, has deemed two sites within the city as Juliet’s balcony and Juliet’s tomb. Juliet may have been fictional, but hundreds of tourists pay to view her balcony and tomb every day.
- Every year since the 1970s, letters about love have been sent to Juliet in Verona. Consequently, an organization was founded, the Club di Giulietta, where volunteers respond to these letters and award a prize for the most beautiful letter every year. This tradition inspired the 2010 Amanda Seyfried movie “Letters to Juliet”.
1657 Script- The Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet between 1594 and 1596. It was first published in 1597 in an unauthorized quarto and then again in 1599 in an authorized quarto.
- The play was originally titled The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet.
- The events of the play take place over just four days. Talk about a whirlwind romance!
- ‘Romeo’ and ‘Juliet’ are the words that represent the letters ‘R’ and ‘J’ in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, famously used by the military.
- Since Shakespeare died well over 70 years ago, Romeo and Juliet is in the public domain. This means that anyone can use, perform, or adapt the play without seeking permission or paying for its use. Consequently, there’s no way to know how often the play has been performed over the past 400 years. At this point, at least tens of thousands of audiences have seen this iconic play.
